<p>This story is shocking on so many levels and has weighed heavily on my heart for the past week. I do not live in this town, but it's a place where very little violent crime occurs and even less ethnic/racial tension. It's a story that I think needs to be told and examined on a larger scale, since it seems that the politics of life in a small community have taken precedence over the welfare of children.</p>
<p>The 12-yo son of a pediatrician was savagely beaten at the bus stop last Wednesday morning and spent several days in the hospital, after being transferred to a larger trauma center where he underwent surgery to install rods and pins in his leg. He has a broken femur as a result of being attacked by several middle-schoolers who beat him with tree branches. The backstory (from one of the parents) is that there were at least a dozen other kids at that bus stop who witnessed the attack and apparently did little or nothing to stop it. Following the attack, ALL of the kids, except for the beaten boy, got on the bus and said NOTHING to the driver and the school was unaware of the incident until a teacher overheard students discussing it. I truly hope that it's because they were too intimidated to speak up in the presence of the bullies, and not that they were so indifferent to another child's suffering. The result was that the young man simply laid there in pain until a passing neighbor noticed him and stopped to render assistance and alert his mom.</p>
<p>The bad guys in this story also happen to be the 7th and 8th grade sons of a NYS Trooper, a NYS Senator, and an ER doctor, which adds another element of surrealism to the story. In one case, I'd say the apple fell very close to the tree, but that's another story and I don't imagine this is something that they saw coming either. Strangely though, it took days for the police department to show up to take a report. I first heard about it Wednesday evening and searched regularly for news of the boy's condition. There was absolutely no media coverage, even in their local newspaper, until Monday when the story broke based on a tip to the Syracuse network affiliate, after which the local paper finally ran a small story. There has been no further coverage. The school superintendent professed sorrow, although he was not entirely truthful when he implied that it's the first incident of this nature that's occurred during his tenure, but stated that it's not their responsibility since it didn't happen on school grounds. So far no formal charges have been filed and only one of the little trolls has been suspended...for three whole days. I understand that the father of the victim was told that it's possible no charges will be filed.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the toll it's taken on this very nice family is visibly awful, which is certainly understandable. They suspected their son had been bullied earlier, but the boy would never tell on his classmates and initially even tried to say that he had "fallen" at the bus stop. The bullies have apparently been calling their son a "terrorist" - his parents are Armenian-born Catholics, and have been citizens and active community members for many years. His dad is a well-known pediatrician and Chief of Staff at the local hospital. He also spends a few days each week in a satellite office serving a rural area lacking any other healthcare services for children. Until last year, the boy attended a Catholic elementary school in the same town, along with many of his current classmates. In short, it seems his ethnicity was just an excuse to taunt and pick on a bright, quiet kid who does not appear to be as big or strong as some of the other boys his age.</p>
<p>I previously would have said it would never happen there...not in a million years and not with those kids, anyway. The entire incident and the way it is being handled makes me feel ill and I wonder if morality and justice are more than words anymore. How can a coordinated and pre-meditated assault, stemming from an ethnic bias, be given a pass? In the eyes of the law, is it somehow okay for kids to hate until they're a certain age, say 14...or is it only okay if their parents are well-connected? And what will these kids turn into in 10 years if they're behaving like heartless little monsters already?</p>
<p>Thanks for listening...I'm sure the family would appreciate your prayers if you are so inclined. Here's a link to the coverage:</p>
<p>Oneida</a> Police, school district investigating alleged bus stop attack - NewsChannel 9 WSYR</p>